Synchros VS Exceeds

Haven't written any articles in a long while, and taking advantage that I'm sick to sit down and finally write about something I have been analyzing for a while.

Exceeds, the brand new mechanic released for the YGO game has a lot of people talking, but Synchros had the same buzz when they were first heard of. However, which one has an edge over the other? Which seems to be the most useful mechanic? Which one has more overall utility? This and a few more questions to be answered in this following article. So let's see...where to start?

Overall Adaptability: Usability Factor

When synchros first came out, we were also introduced to tuners, those nice little monsters that helped us summon our big white-carded bosses into battle. Tuners needed to be used in order for synchros to be summoned, no exceptions. And while tuners could be used on their own, many of them quickly found synergy with their decks to make synchro summoning easy (Krebons for Tele-DAD, Blackwings, Arbellum for Rescue Cat, Infernities, Junk Synchron, Quickdraw for Frogs/Plants, Kegemusha for Samurai, Royal Swamp Eel/Fishborg for Fish OTK, among others). But not all decks could handle synchro summoning, as many tried to accommodate the right tuner to the deck, but it just didn't seem to fit.

That's where Exceeds come to play. By not needing any tuners, but instead 2 or more monsters of the same level, Exceed monsters can find home in more decks now. However, the fact that they have ranks, rather than levels can affect the playability of these if combined with synchros. Which brings me to the next point...

Size Factor: Big VS Small

As most synchros, they are known for their 2000+ attacks and incredible effects. So giving up 2 or more monsters for a big beater with a good effect seems like an excellent payoff, right? Right. However, I started noticing that exceed monsters are mostly all in the lower attack status. So far, Hope is the strongest one, coming off at 2500ATK. But where does that leave the others? Unlike synchros, exceeds play a bit more of a control route. Let's compare them both for a second...

On the synchro side we have a classic: Stardust Dragon, a monster that not only can support itself in battle, but also has a great effect that adds a control. But that's not it, they had their beaters like Goyo, Red Dragon, Red Nova, Colossal, Shooting Star, that while they still had some kind of control, they were normally epic monsters with incredible attack.

But on the exceed side we have No. 34 Electronic Computer-Beast Tera Byte: high defense but no attack whatsoever. Rank 3 that is summoned by 3 level 3 monsters. However, it's effect lets you take control of an opponent's level 4 or lower monster at the cost of an exceed material monster. While not offensive, it grants a higher degree of control, as the monster you take can be used for either a tribute, a synchro summon (if you are using tuners), or another exceed summon.

So synchros by far have a greater attack characteristic with a slight degree of control, while exceed monsters have a much higher degree of control in return for lower attack.

The Biggest Impact: Crushing the Competition

So far, synchros have had an incredible impact since day one, as it encouraged the use of smaller monsters. However, exceeds seem to be going down that route as well, with a slight difference that they can be used to a greater degree in control decks (Gadgets anyone?). Exceeds have just gotten out now, so only time will tell if they sink or swim. But for now, things are looking quite interesting for these new monsters. Will these guys have a bigger impact than synchros did, or will they have to do with runner-up status? Only time will tell.